Year 7, March 21st-28th, 2022: Life Has Its Rewards in the End

 Monday - A Different Sort

- 70 degrees, Sunny, so why are we staying in this house?! Ok, we are NOT staying in this house!

- We did our schoolwork and then at Abishai's request, we went first to Wolf Run Park with Keturah and Socks. We spent 1 hr there. Keturah did laps on her roller blades. She didn't even bring any regular shoes! And then I took Socks around on the paved loop twice myself. And I got all sappy thinking that there won't be that many more times I get to do this with my good ol' boy. Sigh. He got lots of attention from the zillion kids there. I took him to the top of one of the embankments and we must have looked a little silly up there but we caught the kids' attention because then they came up and the parents were all calling them down from there. So I brought Socks back down to the pavement. I was just trying to wander around a little bit while Abishai was playing.

- We had to leave at 2:30 so we could pick up Justin from work. I teased Justin and said it was "Bring your dog and siblings to work day." Lol. He certainly didn't expect to be picked up with all 3 of the extras in the car. So we headed home for him to change and eat, and for me to use the restroom before heading out to Greenfield. Since I have access to Justin and Kya's conversations now, I noticed that they talked about seeing each other today and there were some high expectations of that. So, I didn't want to be a disappointment, despite my migraine this morning, and since it was a beautiful day, I said, ok, why not? We trotted out to Greenfield because I could. Well, of course I checked with Kellie first. She's watching two of her grandchildren this week because they don't have school because of spring break. By the time we got out there, we technically should have only had an hour to spend but ended up staying about 1 1/2 hrs. Abishai ate a cold leftover piece of pizza from their stash of leftovers and then off we trotted on home just in time for him to change and hop in Daddy's car for Tang soo.

- I also brought home some lovely totes and foldable bookcases from the neighbor's house that Kellie's been cleaning out. It's so exciting! New totes! Like really nice ones! And ssshhhh, don't tell Jared about the foldable bookcases. But they are high quality ones and Keturah took them for her room. She's going to replace the plastic shelving unit with her Legos on it and then put some stuff that's on the floor on another one and these do stack. Also, they are deep enough for fabric bins, that's why I said ok. And they are FOLDABLE. Good for book sales or garage sales or just about anything.

- And now my back is so incredibly sore from standing up talking to people, taking walks, sitting in the car, etc. I'm using a heating pad on it now and it's helping me not think about it. But otherwise, it's no good. Absolutely not good. Like in so much pain I'm crying no good. Low back, bring on all the pain meds, sit with the heating pad all day, don't move, don't stand up, kind of no good. Thank goodness it's going to rain for 4 days and I have an excuse to rest. I've got lots of podcasts to catch up with so I'm juicing up my earbuds and my puzzle is ready (although I can't lean over that too much either.) Time to rest I think. And try not to watch or listen to or read anything too stressful. Although I have plenty of stressful things going on at the moment. But I'm putting them aside this week. I will not work on them this week. I'm taking a spring break from them. And being outside today, having to focus on something else like watching where Abishai was, or what the dog was interested in, or what time I had to be back, were great ways to keep me distracted from my own thoughts. If I can keep myself distracted this week from the internet and my own thoughts for a bit, just so I can have a break, then I can come back to the stressors a bit more refreshed and tackle them again with new eyes. Stay balanced. Stay healthy.

Well done, middle child of Michael W. Smith!

I was walking Socks around the perimeter of Wolf Run Park today when I realized that there may or may not be that many more times I get to do this with my puppy dog. It did well today. But it's so much slower overall. And what scares me is that with his condition, we will have absolutely no warning. Once the end starts, it will happen quickly and there's no stopping it. So we can only be careful not to overstress him. That's why we are taking him to the park when it's not too hot yet. And triple checking his water and meds and all his needs. At least I am. The kids don't check as much of course.

Come on, pup, you don't have to check every smell. Pup, ok, if it's what you really want.

Everybody says he's such a beautiful dog, and they are not wrong. He really is thanks to great, expensive food and lots of brushing and tons of loving and all day petting. He's hardly ever alone in the house. And he's never been fat. So all the odds are in his favor to keep living as long as possible.

March on, little doggie, march on.

Team work makes the dream work. Justin helped Kya and her mom move their trampoline into the middle of their yard and then everybody helped to get it set up. Then the little ones got to jump on it for awhile. It's great when everybody can pitch in to get something done!

Oooo, daffodil time! Short stems this year, but here come the yellow beauties!

Hello my spring beauties!

I better capture you now before the rain washes you all away!

Simply gorgeous!

I found these on a Facebook ad, but aren't they pretty? Ok, fine, they are for "mature" women, but I've always liked the "mature" styles. Ok, fine, the old lady styles. I went onto the website and they had some other styles that were more trendy. I wonder if the rouching and A-line style in this way would work for me? It's kind of a different technique than what I've seen before. and I just think the pattern on the bottom is pretty and unique.

'tis the season! Actually, I'm glad that somehow I was on Mr. Speedy's campaign list and got the personal text message from the campaign office. Yes, I support Mr. Speedy 100%, although Jared is "on the fence (something to do with 2nd amendment rights), so yes, I'm getting a sign for our yard. He's been in this position for a couple of terms now and is doing an excellent job standing up for all the things I consider right and true. I read all his emails and follow whatever social media he puts out. He goes on nature hikes with Gary. So yup, I'll support him again in this reelection year. How about you?

Tuesday - Rain

- Today was the start of what looks like to be one of the rainiest weeks of the year. Rain every day through the weekend. I wish I could says we are bored, but we still are barely making it through the basics. We made it though, and that's what counts.

- I'm working on plans for next year and I'm counting down the days until I don't have to transport Justin home, not check on Keturah as much, and not tell Abishai to sit down in the chair and focus. The fall will be much easier. Justin will be driving himself soon enough. Just a couple of months from now. It can't come soon enough, 

- Let's see, school, laundry, finally cooked the salmon for dinner. I took a shower while the salmon cooked, too. I wrote the outline for a blog post I'm writing, sorted mail, picked up Justin from work, picked up books from the library, bought dog food, answered email, put away food from the misfits box, and fed Abishai lunch and breakfast. Oh, and made myself a bigger breakfast than I normally do. And I managed to eat 3 real meals today, drank two teas and my usual cup of coffee, all while they were still warm! That's a big accomplishment! I also figured out which breed of dog my kids are most like and then got Abishai hooked onto to the old PBS series, Wishbone. He's definitely most like Wishbone, always up for an adventure and telling tales. You can find all or almost all of the episodes on YouTube. Classic PBS stuff I grew up on. And Abishai was laughing so hard at Wishbone's antics, too. Justin is a golden retriever, Benaiah is a Newfoundland, and Keturah is a Chow Chow. 

- Speaking of Keturah, she would be an embarrassment if I had asked this in front of our history book author. After 10 years of working through these history books, she still can't answer this basic question about China. Why is China's culture so isolated? It has to do with geography. What is to the north? Mountains. To the west. Desserts. To the south and east? Her answer: jungles and more mountains. No! The sea! Picture it on the map! Yes, there's the Vietnams and Koreas, but generally speaking, China is hard to get to because of these other regions. Good grief. It's one thing not to know the dynasties in order. But it's another thing to not understand why a people group is so unique. She also hesitated on some other questions and Abishai piped up and answered the questions correctly from across the room. He's only been old enough to understand for the last year. Just when you think the kid hasn't been paying attention at all, he can spit out a specific fact out of his head just like that. And Keturah just had said, "I didn't learn anything knew out of that Celeopatra book, Mom. It's the same stuff over and over." It was a novel written by a Christian historical novelist through the eyes of a Hebrew servant to Cleopatra. It sounds absolutely fascinating. And she found it, meh. Just like she found, Troy, the movie from 2004, just "meh." Ok, Chow Chow. You can go back to your "meh" Chinese throne room now. I have a life to live and it's exciting. "Meh" has no place in my life. Remember that "lukewarm" passage in Revelations? It's a no go for me. I need some excitement. That's why I go to Kellie's house. There's always excitement there.

- And tomorrow we shall join the chaos of Kellie's two grandkids, two dogs, Kya, and the indoors again. There's too much rain again, too. So yup, let the chaos rain supreme. And I was thinking about it today and how my mom and her homeschool friends would do this, too. 5 families we were with me being the oldest. I think my brother might have been the youngest. 5 moms, 12 kids. Typically at the Hardys with 40 acres. 5 acres were "cultivated" for the house and yard and then some had trails to the stream and then there was a bit more. We were not supervised either. But we weren't babies. I was probably 6th-8th grade, maybe a bit older than that, and my brother is 6 yrs younger, so my mom might have had him stay closer up to the house. What an amazing childhood I had. And that's all I wished for for my kids. So instead of talking about homeschooling, I'm going to focus on more of this type of stuff in the future for them. I'm going to say yes to events and no to the books. We've done enough. Anything else is bonus right now. It's time to play, indoors and out. I'm done with this school year, can you tell? Let's go!

Acting out Samson in the Bible after his eyes were gouged out.

Samson takes down 3,000 Philistines

Knocking down the pillars in a temple of the Philistines god.

Pretty accurate. Of my mother at least. My mom was a hippie. She loved her jean jumpers. I wear the 2006 version (my mom did not). And I don't plan to be a hippie or a 2021 homeschooling mom.

Abishai, the Jack Russel terrior, crazy, full of energy, great at digging, needs lots of attention.

Justin, the golden retriever, loyal, a little confused, furry ears/long hair.

Benaiah, the newfoundland, the biggest of them all, but super lovable and good to everyone.

Keturah, the chow chow. Likes to be left alone, low energy, warms up to people, a bit yippy and sharp tongued. Does fine with one owner.

Keturah took over my new shelving. Of course she did. My little organizer.

Huge storm system came through through this week.

Yikes. Chalmette is the exact town Aaron and Shauna live in.

And this is some of the damage that was done. Not fun. Could be worse. I don't know details though. Someone sent this to Aaron from one of their helicopter surveillance rides. Sigh.

Wednesday - A Different Sort of Wednesday

- Well, I had every intention of doing some school with Abishai today but...I spent over an hour texting a book worth of words to Jared, so......that didn't happen. I was so fully in the moment with my text that I barely registered who came in and out of the kitchen to get breakfast and what they ate. I had to go back around afterwards to make sure everyone had indeed been through. ADHD much? Yup, that's me. Oh well, the words were flowing well. I take advantage of those moments, ok? 

- And then it was time to go. It's a good thing I figured out what we needed to do and when last night because we wouldn't have had a plan for today. And although we did, we changed it last minute. We had planned to go to Aldi's to get some snacks to take with us to Kellie's house, then go to PetSmart for dog food, then stop by McDonald's for lunch, because it's all in the same plaza. Then I'd zip out to straight to Greenfield on US-40. Oh yeah, stop by the TCU north of us so Justin could deposit his paychecks. Well, there were a couple of hiccups. Justin did his TCU thing no problem. I went into Aldi's with NO cart or bags and came out with no cart and just one bag. We did not go to PetSmart because Keturah and I decided we would take Socks and go tomorrow so he can pick out his own birthday treats and sniff the other animals and such. We've never taken him in so I thought it would be fun. I hope it's still ok. If not, I guess we can take him straight back to the car or something. Maybe we did take him once. But it's definitely a treat for him to go. So I skipped that today. And then I was the only one who wanted McD's for lunch. Abishai had eaten enough at home and he's basically sworn off chicken nuggets now. Sigh. And Justin doesn't eat at McD's. The new CFA is not ready yet. I let Justin pick out a different restaurant on the way and he choose Popeye's, fair enough. I asked him multiple times if he wanted 6 biscuits instead of 1 and if he wanted fries, but he said no. He only got 1 chicken sandwhich and a drink and 1 biscuit. For a teenage boy, he sure does eat light. Well, he had taken his medication today and was just not hungry. When the medication wore off at 5pm though, he was hangry. Duh. Popeye's is a "Louisiana style" fried chicken sandwhich place, a rival to CFA, and they sell biscuits, like the ones for biscuits and gravy, all day. Dry as dry can be, but whatever. It was 12:45 and the line was empty for the place. McD's was pretty quiet, too. In what should be a fairly busy area, but I guess that not busy. Just our usual stomping grounds on the east side. But we were able to zip it out to Greenfield right on time no problem. Abishai did finally eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich at 3pm. And then didn't eat again until after Tang Soo. 

- And this is why I really hate the food schedule right now. No one eats on a regular schedule. I don't know how other parents do it. No one sits for a real meal. How am I supposed to plan? Does everybody just warm up leftovers? Do I plan for 5 people? But no one likes the food I make for dinner? I can't substitute everything? And what do you feed a kid who is super picky? I don't have time for this. No way Jose'. I can't win. I won't win. 

- We had all kinds of weather today. High winds. Flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder. A downpour. Bright sunshine. Clouds. Blue skies. It was crazy! The kids did go outside for a bit when we first got there, thank goodness. But then they kept each other busy the rest of the afternoon so Kellie and I could just visit in peace. And thankfully they left Justin and Kya alone, too. Abishai didn't want to leave! And when we got home, he almost didn't want to go to Tang Soo because his mouth was so dry from not taking the time to drink enough water all afternoon and he needed to be refueled. But he got to do some sparring tonight, so I'm glad he didn't miss that. He played very hard all day today. He'll sleep hard tonight.

- Ok, this is cute. Justin is teaching Kya how to play Minecraft, but from a distance. They are chatting through their chatting app but in Minecraft, they have a world all to themselves. Adorable! I don't want to spy on their conversations, I really don't. It's not really fair that I now have access. It's too tempting to look. But it's kind of fun to give Justin pointers, if only he'll listen. He just doesn't have a clue sometimes. Anyway, I love it. Sigh. 

- Now I have to go back to taking care of my own business tomorrow with some school, Petsmart errand, pick  up Justin, write blog post, make dinner, take Abishai to Tang Soo. And then collapse into bed again. Yup, schoolwork is fading out of the picture again. I can't keep up with all the things at once. Something always suffers.

This box was intended to be used for Legos.

This box didn't have a planned use for yet, but maybe Hot Wheel tracks. definitely not for more weaponry.

Very fun.

Not funny. Absolutely heartbreaking.

Grade levels are manmade. We are hear to break those trends. I don't look up the scope and sequence and expectations for 1st grarde for example. I just look for forward progress. Grades only help when we are using them to place our kids in Sunday School class, that's it. I avoid them the rest of the time. And reading levels? Not here. Ever. And I lucked out. We didn't have any reading problems, praise the Lord! We made it through 4 kids, all using the same program, good old Abeka and the Blue Backed Speller.

Thursday - Preparing for the Golden Birthday

- We started the day with school, but boy, was it tough. Trying to keep Abishai in his seat and concentraing is a full time job. I think I'm going to call the doctor and get an appointment so we can discuss some options for an ADHD diagnosis. We have a lot of money in the HSA account, so perhaps I can use some of that and go to the expensive doctor as well. Who knows. But we need a change. Today Abishai was writing his penmanship paper and instead of copying out The elephant has a telephone. He wrote The elephone because he had looked up and stared at something and lost his place in the lines of writing that were right above the blank lines on the same sheet of paper. I can't always sit with him either. He does better when I do, but it's not always feasible. And then there's things like the emotional disregulation and constant movement and all that. It's time to try something else for a bit and either rule it in as helpful or rule it out as not helpful. I don't want to be mad at my child for something he isn't trying to do on purpose. And he's got a long ways to go with academics with me. Time to make a change. And no, just because he can stare at a screen or focus on something for a long period of time, doesn't mean he isn't scattered 95% of the time. So, let's just see if can't get him to be more even keeled.  

- After Abishai and Keturah did their independent work, I promised we would take Socks to Petsmart so he could pick out his own birthday toy and treats. He was very excited to be somewhere new. Keturah handled Socks very well and kept her hand near his collar. But the only thing Socks did was sniff. I think he wore out his sniff to be honest. He didn't let out a single woof or snarl at anything. And he didn't attempt to mark any territory either. He did look into the cages of the different animals like guinea pigs, birds, cats, and fish, but didn't try to paw at them or jump back from them or anything. He just cocked his head a little bit. He's either a little blind or just such a good boy and learned his lessons about messing with other creatures. Granted there's glass between him and them, but still. Socks did however go right up to any human we saw for pets and loves. And they all obliged ohhhing and ahhhing about how pretty he is and well behaved he is. My favorite words to hear about him because it's really, really true. It's a very fine specimen of a dog. When a 5 yr old can accidentally lay on top of his hindquarters right where it hurts him the most and he doesn't let out any kind of squeak or squeal or nip, you know you've got the best. Some of the dogs I grew up with would nip if you did that to them and we were warned never to touch their backs. But not Socks. He'll move away but he won't wince. He's a tough old boy. Anyway, he sniffed his whole way round the store. I tried to get him to pick out his own dog food, treats, bones, toys, and he wanted nothing of it. He showed more interest in the fancy treats than real bones. Keturah was convinced he needed a real bone. Some were really expensive and some weren't, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy one. He never has been interested in chewing anything. A few bites on a stick or his sheep, but that's it. Nothing prolonged and that was years ago. He never ate any rawhides like my beagles did. He doesn't have nervous energy like they did. But we did find some birthday treats for him. I tried to put a birthday hat on him and he walked away. So I bought him a bow tie and regular tie to put on his collar. I thought it said Happy Birthday and it has Happy Gotcha Day but I don't care, it's bright rainbow colors and it looks cute. The t-shirts look cute too but he wouldn't like them so I didn't get those. There was a little birthday kit and it was actually only $20 which is reasonable that said Happy Pawty on its decor but again, I might only use it once. I just want to celebrate Socks' golden birthday well and all the birthdays we have with him in case it's his last. I'm inviting the Wagars, the Caudills, and the Crafts over next Saturday for cupcakes to celebrate. Why not? It's a silly reason just to see them anyway. Unfortunately, Alisha and Charlie just had to put down one of their dogs, Sissy, so I'm not sure if they will come, but it might be good for them, too. Sissy was 14. We got Socks from the Wagars and Dan and Mary Craft rode with Socks home from Canada and love him up when they've done work on our house. And hey, I don't get to do many birthday parties anymore, so, I just wanted to. Back to Petsmart, a cat did hiss at Scoks, but everybody was safe. Socks did take an interest in the fish tanks which surprised me, so that was interesting. Abishai loved seeing the turtle that was in there. Nobody was grossed out by the live crickets. We did get a big bag of dog food and all that, too. And then the cashier tried to give Socks a regular treat that he has at home, and he at first refused to because maybe it's coming from a stranger? We don't know. But it was a fun hour in the pet store. I love our well behaved big floof. I wish we could take him more places. He's definitely a conversation starter.

- Abishai was finally hungry for lunch, so as promised, I took Keturah to McDonald's for a treat and Abishai asked for a Happy Meal, so I obliged since I didn't purchase anything for him yesterday. The slushie machine was not working well so we ended up with an extra slushie and then Justin got one when we picked him up from work on the way home. So everybody was happy. 

- Then it was time for screens, and for my screen time, I typed out the blog post for the IAHE I'm working on. It didn't progress as easily as I had wanted to because I was tired, so I printed it out to read over and edit during Abishais' karate class. I was able to do that and do that well. And then rewrite it on Friday. Woot! Woot! I also observed during karate class that Abishai's behavior also matched classic ADHD signs of being distracted. And he likes to socialize, which is not tolerated in class. The poor teacher can't do a whole lot to stop it. I hope the parents, who all seem to stay during class, had a chat with their kids on the way home like I did. I was not pleased. Sigh. But what can you do when you're not allowed to touch students anymore or single them out or humiliate them in front of everyone else? Sigh. 

- We got home and ate some dinner. I finally finished my bowl of dinner around 8:30pm. Ugh, again, I hate this food schedule so much! I had some emails to catch up on, and then my TV watching. Let's just say it was a late night binge fest and it didn't do my sleep habits any favors.

Justin said there was no deli meat and cheese to make a sandwhich and he said he told me to get some yesterday when we were at Aldi's. Well, no, he didn't tell me AND he just didn't look hard enough under the shredded cheese. Sigh. Justin.

Big boys peel their own hard boiled eggs. At least he's eating this protein right now. He won't eat chicken nuggets or hot dogs or deli meat sandwhiches or cheese or yogurt and not much milk either. Just peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches. Maybe leftover dinner meat. And loads and loads of complex carbs and fruit. Oh and not much veggies either. Sigh. That's why he only weighs 48 lbs.

Whenever there's a crisis, you can always count on Michael W. Smith expressing himself through music. Can't wait to hear this piece for the Ukraine! It's an orchestral type of music. I don't know if it will have lyrics or a choir or what yet. He says it's done though. Just have to master it and put it out there. He's also been on sabbatical/recording mode so we'll see. Just about 2 months until I see him on the piano tour. Woot! Woot!

Child, it's 47 degrees F outside. With the threat of sleet and snow. Put some clothes on! His response: "But I'm Canadian!" So he puts on a winter coat and hat without changing his shorts. He did put on different shoes though.

Fool's spring. That's what we had. I'm kind of glad I didn't get to cleaning out the flower beds yet. As soon as we get a week worth of warm temps though, I need to get digging and pulling because I see some green shoots coming up.

Checking out the guinea pigs.

Walking right past the birds.

Sniff. Sniff. Sniff. Yummy bones but I don't NEED them. I'll just leave them for my other friends.

Oooo, I like this kind of junk food treats.

I'm not too sure about this kitty. It looks like she might hurt me. I better get out of here!

The ONLY time Socks escapes is when the gate is left wide open. He doesn't climb fences anymore and he doesn't charge through the front glass door either. He won't try to, but if he can see that the door or gate is open, he'll for it. He wants to be with living creatures, especially people. So he goes on adventures to find them.

So, bro, what are these colorful floaty things. I definitely haven't seen these things before. They go so fast!

I love when people have cute outfits on their dogs. Socks has tolerated when we've put a cape or something on him, but then he looks so pitiful so I just take it right off. I did find this cut jersey t-shirt, but didn't buy it because I'm not going to be cruel to him on his birthday.

What?! Cheese puffs for dogs?! Ok then! But again, I didn't buy them because I wasn't sure if he'd like them. We've trained him not to like people food so I don't think he goes for cheese flavored things.

This is what we settled on. Special flavored biscuits because a Milk-Bone guy, so he will most likely eat them. The wild cuts for his actual birthday meals because they are real chunks of meat in gravy and not just a pete'. Then cupcakes and pie are the real cookie treats that he does eat on occassion. And finally the ties that go on his collar. Happy Golden 12th birthday to my dog Socks! April 12th is his actual birthday!

He might not want a real bone, but he'll eat McDonald's french fries from his favorite girl in his favorite spot in the whole house. Socks is very loved and very spoiled. He sleeps here every single night with her.Adorable.

We finally figured out my profile on the PS5 so I'm linked to the internet now and we can use Amazon on it again. That's a good and bad thing. It's good because I can find for them to watch on my computer or phone and then they can find it from my history and watch it. The bad thing is that I like to watch well, different things that might make them scared. So we'll see. Abishai is watching is guy named Brandon Whitten Fun and he has these cool videos to takes about his Grogu doll. And it's usually 30-60 seconds.

It was my turn to take Abishai to Tang Soo Do. He does well when he's focused on his turn and what he's doing. But when he's standing in line, he is chatting and goofing off. It's going to be awhile before we get him to focus. But I think it's still going to be good for him. Since we have been struggling a lot at home with school and general disobedience, and it's out of his control, I'm going to make an appointment to go see the pediatrician about ADHD. It doesn't hurt to ask.

Abishai gets his legs way up there despite his size.

We have to make the traditional Jello-O eggs of course!

A fun treat. An online concert/fundraiser For King and Country did this evening. Abishai knew some of the lyrics because I've been playing it in the car. I know it was prerecorded and they said they were in a certain desert, too. It was nice to jam to as I was trying to edit the IAHE blog post I was working on.

Intro to For King and Country Fundraiser Mini Concert

Friday - 

- I had intentions of doing history with Keturah and Abishai today but I wanted to go over a blog post I'm working on for the IAHE before I sent it off, so I focused on it. And that turned into making sure all my email was up to date and so forth, so, no history got done. Keturah and Justin did do their homework, though. But it was our last official gym day and we always leave at noon, which cuts into our lunch hour so Friday mornings have been difficult to squeeze any work into. Oh well, I got the post done and that's all that matters today at least. Grandma and Grandpa were unimpressed that Abishai had two days "off" of school this week. They still don't understand by "off" I mean that he didn't do any paperwork. Of course he still learned other stuff like how to socialize and he learns tons on the other days. Duh. They just can't wrap their heads around the way we operate, even after 15 years of it. SMH.

- I don't try to explain it to them anymore either. I don't even know why I said it that way. We just didn't do any math or language art papers. Abishai has been reading books on his own every day. That counts toward school time. And we talked about weather a lot this week on our car rides. And I talked about the robins we saw at gym day today, that's science. He's reading his whole Bible story to you for Bible class, is that not enough for you? I think that's plenty enough. Can you not rejoice in that? Sometimes I think they've lost touch with what school could be. So we'll keep soldering on as normal. I know where my kids are at. They are very smart, thank you. And they will remember their schooling for a lot longer than any of their peers. Plus they will have common sense and manners. And Bible knowledge to boot. Oh and thinking skills and discernment. So, I'm a happy mama. They just don't know why Abishai can't memorize the books of the Bible like Benaiah did. Well, because the kid has ADHD and looks up at the wall every 2 seconds ok? There's nothing I can do about that. So never mind. I'll just get the diagnosis, put him on meds and we'll just see how much better he'll do. Then you might believe me. Although, they still aren't so sure about Justin's diagnosis either. Or mine. Sigh.

- So, after granola bars for lunch, we went to gym day. It was the usual suspects, but we had our usual conversations aplenty. There's definitely comfort in that. Being with my people. They know and see our progress. They celebrate our successes. Like celebrating when a husband finally hires a person to install a light fixture that is up two stories. Or when a daughter has become a social butterfly after a change in social circles. And they bolster us up when we struggle and offer suggestions. My people. It doesn't matter how many times a week we see each other, we always have more to say to each other. 

- After gym day, we had quiet time. I did nothing but listen to my Bible and play on my phone. Then it was time for dinner at Gary and Leah (thus the conversations up above.) At least I got to say hi to Benaiah before he went out for date night. He was so excited to say he, with Grandpa's mileage points as a birthday gift, got his planet ticket and hotel, and conference tickets all settled for that e-games conference in Texas on his birthday weekend. My baby is going away for a big boy weekend! Am I sad or scared? Um, a tiny bit. But at the same time, have you seen my kid? Who is going to mess with him?! Um, nobody. He can navigate anything at this point. He's going to be 20. I navigated airports by myself at age 17. I was scared stiff, but I did it. All 97 lbs of me. So no, I know he'll be fine. We've been in and out of airports and hotels so many times in his life that we are all pros at it now. And he'll be with Chase. And Chase's relatives live there or 3 hrs from where they will be at, so all is well there I think. And I'm sure we know someone who knows someone who knows someone. And it's Texas. It's a good state. Oh man, now my mind is starting to race at what could happen. Uh oh. Nope, go back to when I was his age. Oh yeah, that's right. I got married at age 20. Yup, he'll be fine. I was mature enough I think. I was naive, but I figured it out ok. He will, too. He already has. He made all these decisions on his own. Yup. It's insane that Benaiah is this old already. 20. Two decades. I was this old when I got married. Oh....my......goodness.....SMH

- Jared and I came home by ourselves after dinner and the kids stayed back to play nerts with Grandpa and Yahtzee with Grandma. Grandpa and Keturah smoked Justin and Kya at Nerts despite Grandpa trying to go slower for Kya's sake. Whoops. But at least Kya has been initiated into the Nerts club. Lol. Can't go wrong with that. Although Jared and I don't play. I do know how, but it's been a really long time. But now she knows NOT to play against Gary, lol. Gary then brought them back here for us.

- And that's the end of the day. The weekend should be pretty normal. I've got a newsletter to work on. Jared has to finishing correcting papers for that class Gary did. Maybe I'll do some history lessons. Justin should do some homework. Keturah should read. Abishai will putter. And away we go. It's going to be really cold and maybe even a little bit snowy! So much for spring! The boys refuse to put shorts on again. Abishai keeps claiming he's Canadian and then just dons a coat over summer clothes. I refuse to put on my winter coat again. 

- And then there's Justin. Oh Justin, my Justin. He's good for a laugh and he doesn't even know it. He makes Kya laugh, and he annoys her almost to her breaking point and he doesn't know it. And then I hear, "Don't spit in my eye!" Justin! What in the world did you just do? And Justin, stop showing her those memes that don't make any sense! They are NOT earning you any brownie points! I think he does it just to get a rise out of her, but in reality, she will break at some point and she's going to be really mad and it's not going to be cute. How do I know? Because she's similar to me. And I think what he's doing is cute, but I have my limits. And I'm going to go punch him myself. And then he goes into the fridge and yells, "OOOOO, Jello eggs!" and freaks Kya out. And for the last 30 minutes there's been this back and forth tom foolery between the two of them that sound similar to Benaiah and Ava and yet vastly different. It's the most wonderful thing to hear actually. It makes me smile from ear to ear. The innocence of teenagers developing a relationship and having fun together. The little bit of awkwardness and yet arguing like old married people. They are so adorable. And it makes me so so happy! I know they are super, super young still, but sitting in the here and now and listening to the joy and innocence. 

-Ah, hope. I hear hope for the future. I hear new beginnings. Whatever the future holds, it doesn't matter. The here and now, in this moment, is good, because there is laughter, and I have happy tears in my eyes because I have these two in my kitchen. And I have my 20 year old out with his girl of 3 years on their date night and I know how solid of a foundation their relationship was built on and how consistent they are with date night and communication and saving money and staying faithful to God and each other. Man, God and us and these girls' parents, we've done this parenting thing well. And it makes my heart happy. Oh so happy. There's so much more work to do. But we can see some of the fruits now. And it spurs me on to keep going. We can do this. It's worth it. It's why I pour my whole being into what I do. I don't want to do anything else in the whole wide world. I don't want to be a vet. I don't want to be an astronaut. I don't want to be an astronaut. I want to be a mom. I want to be their mom and their mentor and their teacher. And I want to help other parents do the same. This is my calling. This is my life. Nothing else matters to me. Nothing. I honor God, I am doing God's will for my life, with what I'm doing. This is my calling. It's not an education choice. It's a lifestyle choice. Discipleship is for life.

- Abishai's surprise video of the day. I didn't think he had had a chance to mess with my phone this morning, but apparently he did. I must have dozed off for 30 seconds. Gotta love these fun surprises when I go to load up photos and videos.  

Yeah! Abishai pulled out the pegboard and started to work on it all by himself! It's great for fine motor skills. And he can do it during read alouds! Who knew he would be the one to finally be interested in it?

See, Mom, I did these this way, and those that way. Exactly! It takes a brain like this to make patterns. He thinks like me sometimes. I would make patterns, too.

Go to gym day they said. Sit and not actually run around they did. So what was the point? We could have just met at a coffee shop or something. Oh well. That's what happens when your kids grow up. They still get along ok. Abishai was bored but this group really isn't for him anymore. He needs a different group and I can't provide that for him at the moment. Next year perhaps we can get into a nature hike one with younger kids.

Mom, look! Birds! There were multiple red breasted Daddy robins right outside the window, so we had a mini science lesson about how the Daddy Robins have the bright red bellies and how the mommies have duller tummies so they can camouflage when they take care of the babies near the nest.

Nice, rounded, male robin. Yeah!

Looking directly right at us.

Hi, Mr. Robin. Nice to meet you!

And a wintry mix storm is on us. Will it be rain/snow/hail/freezing rain? We don't know, but the wind has picked up something fierce and the temperatures have dropped significantly. Brrr....These could be tiny hail balls or just freezing rain. It's hard to tell.

Saturday - Cuddles

- Lots and lots of cuddles with Abishai and Jared to start the day. And then lots of messes from the little guy because he wanted and needed to play par cor across the couch cushions. It's beastly cold outside today, like the wind is bitter cold like it's the middle of winter cold. In fact, the wind the last few days has knocked the bat box off of it's pole! So I don't think anyone is in the mood to leave the house today. But at least Keturah and I have already have our showers today. I just want to go snuggle up under a blanket and sleep. But alas, it's IAHE newsletter day. I had to catch up this blog fist. And Jared won't let me turn up the heat so I'm freezing. I think it's time for some coffee. The other kids are tucked in their beds hopefully reading for school or playing on their phones. I think I might move my mother's green bookcase out of Keturah's room and put it behind my desk to store some things that are on the floor and create some vertical storage. The area behind my desk is like a closet anyway. That was the intention in the first place. But I have to get up because I'm sleepy.

- I didn't get to the newsletter today, but I did move a bookcase out of Keturah's room to behind my desk and created some vertical storage. So now I can get some arts and crafts supplies out for the kids better. But I think there's going to be some more revamping of those supplies in the coming days and I might even insist on getting my rolling carts back from Keturah for those supplies instead. Like before she goes to New Orleans on Spring Break. She took them over for her Legos and I was not pleased. I'm not sure what she did with the boxes I got her the other day, so I think we'll be haggling and negotiating over the next few days. Jared did say he wanted to get rid of the cardboard boxes in our room during that vacation week so I think we can safely narrow down working on the rest of the misc. boxes in our room which also includes the bathroom stuff under the sink. I think I can accomplish that during that week. And I would like to, as well as my summer and winter clothes, which is partly why there's a slight mess in my room at the moment. So, some minor cleanouts that are reasonable. He also indicated he has plans for Justin, himself and I on Wednesday of that week, so I think that's fun. We have a total of 6 1/2 days so we'll see.

- For the rest of today, I did that little bookcase project, and I helped Justin clean up his corner in his room because he whined he couldn't do it himself. It only took 5 minutes for me to ask him what to do with each item and it was done. He's exactly like me in that he needs someone to just come in and ask him the questions and stop me from making the excuses. It takes more time to make the excuse than it does to do the thing. Just do the thing. 

- Then I rested and Jared took Keturah and Abishai to a few stores because they had already been on the screen a lot today. It was super, duper cold and they also saw snowflakes!  So I have heaters going, Jared had a fire going, and I put on Christmas pjs. Indiana is very confused on it's weather! And this is why I haven't made the clothing switch yet. 

- We actually ate dinner altogether for once! We still had teens that immediately left the table, but hey, at least we got to see each other's faces for a little bit. Then Abishai was off for a quick bath before watching some more Star Wars. The others and I had had our showers earlier in the day for once. Yeah! 

- So it's been a good day, but I'm tired. I need to tackle that newsletter ASAP. But first, I have to find out what went wrong on the taxes and why they were sent back to me for Indiana taxes. Hm,.....Fun times.

It definitely was severe for awhile.

It's been very gusty all evening last night into all day today. Are we back into winter? Yuck!

North part of the city did see some snow actually. And the bat box got knocked down. Jared is trying to fix it today.

Abishai! I thought I was on top of it this morning and caught him before he took any photos! Brat! He put the phone under the covers for literally ONE SECOND! Ugh!

Thanks, bruh, an undercover photo. Just thanks.

Disgusting. And don't think this isn't in your school. It is. It might be more subtle. But it is. But as I commented on a post about this, yes, homeschool your children so they are safe right now, but also, be involved locally so that you can save other children from this crap. So many parents are still very naive. Stand up for all children and for the teachers who don't want this in their classrooms but must do it or they get fired. And pray that they do stand up for themselves or find ways to not teach it or something. But VOTE in better school board leaders. Go to public meetings. Don't just hide in your own homes with your own children. Your children will have to interact with their children someday. So those children still matter, too.

And the Jell-O egg is going and going....

And it's gone!

Abishai figured out a new geometric shape today, the hexagon. Very good! And duly noted that he is a very tactile leraner.

It was so cold and wintry outside, that it was blankie fort making day inside. I didn't get the memo though until it was too late.

Justin's bed. And I would do this ALL the time so I would have some privacy. When you shared a small bedroom with two sisters, you have to do what you have to do.

Keturah did it, too.

Canada, you can have your weather back now.

Wowzers!!

Since it's flurrying outside, I guess it's time for, "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow." And fires in the fire place and Christmas jammies. It may be March 26th, but it could be December 26th for all I care. Cold and snowy.  Do I hear any sleigh bells?

Sunday - Division

- Sigh. It was another silent, weird Sunday. Leah got here just as Jared was about to leave. Justin ended up going with her and Abishai went with Jared. Keturah didn't have to go early for anything because there was no middle school worship and she didn't have KP worship team. So she just figured she would stay home with me. I don't know if Jared assumed that leaving her behind would make me go to service for the second hour or not. He wouldn't exchange words with me again today. He just hasn't been on Sundays and I don't know why. It's like I have a plague because I won't attend Indian Creek in person. So Keturah watched service on the tablet and I watched on my phone. And then I watched New Pal Bible Church's service on my computer because I switched over to my computer so I could do other things while I listened. I listen better when I have my fingers occupied. It wasn't quite the morning I had expected, but ok fine, whatever. 

- I also woke up in the middle of a dream to my alarm. In the dream, among some other intense things, was me taking a 9 month old out of a carseat, but she didn't belong to me. She belonged to Abishai's karate teacher, Tess. Tess had been driving and I was in the backseat with the baby. I know I was just trying to be helpful, but I hadn't even asked. I just took the baby out as if she was my own. So I woke up just thinking about babies and wanting more babies. I think I was triggered because I had set aside a few items yesterday from my shelves saying that I won't have any more kids who "might" use these and grandkids will probably not be interested in them either. You see, I don't want to get rid of anything. I want more kids and I want to homeschool more kids. I don't want just grandkids. I want more babies. And Jared won't let me and he won't let me talk about it or vent about it or let me be tender about it. He'll just be all defensive about it. But I don't want to ever be done. I want to be in the here and now and not spend all my mental and emotional energy fighting Jared about it (or church or his parents about ADHD or anything). I just want to get along and spend my energies having fun. 

- So I'm trying to just get up and do and ask permission later. It's not the way I want to do things but it's the only way things will get done, I can move on, and be efficient with my time. Today the door of the front closet broke off. You would think in 5 years of living int his house, Jared could have found the time to rehang a door instead of letting it get to the point where it sheared off somewhere? Nope. I want the name and number of a handyman. Someone I can call monthly to fix this or that. And I'll have a list ready. Things like that closet door or the step going into the sunroom or the broken lights in the bathroom or putting a towel rack in the bathroom. I can't take this anymore. Another weekend come and gone and nothing to show for it. He wants to flips houses and make them look nice and yet we live in a crappy house that is falling apart. It's not fair and it's not right. I deserve better, too.

- We had pizza with Grandma and Benaiah. Benaiah told us about work and not having enough work to do. He has a meeting with his bosses this week. He's so smart and so diligent and so honest. He just wants to earn his wages the correct way and he's quickly learning that businesses simply aren't run that way. People cheat their way through. And it isn't efficient. And he's learning what the ideals for a business are, but what the realities are. Poor guy. And then there's Justin who has found out just how much he's been missing between one youth group and another. I told you there was a big difference. So he might switch youth groups. I couldn't get Keturah to go again tonight. But Justin went and enjoyed hearing topics he has learned about with Gpa and I and Bible trivia and spend time with other kids that have learned about these things and care about these things and spend time with Kya of course. So, We might just be splitting the kids up to two different youth groups. Just not the way I thought I would be though. Justin said he'd stick with his small group for now. It absolutely is so affirming for my boys to be out there and take on these principals that I have taught them year after year after year as their own. Honesty, integrity, Biblical principals, seeing right through hypocrisy, getting down to the roots, apologetics, My boys might not know top level math and science but they know how to use their heads and how to interact with people of all ages. They are not confined by their peers. They can talk with all generations and both genders with ease. And that's all that matters to me. I have done my job well. I have fulfilled my calling with these two. I am at peace.

- Meanwhile back at home Jared took the other two to Kroger for dinner and got some groceries. I don't know what since the fridge looked the same when I got back. He got Abishai some chips I guess but wouldn't get Keturah get twizzlers. That's not fair. Oh well. I'm fading fast again.

- Today has been exhausting. Again. Every Sunday is like a knock down drag out fight. It's spiritual warfare to the max. I want to go to New Pal. Jared won't leave Indian Creek. We are stuck. Every week. So I think I might actually go to New Pal Bible Church in person . I'm going to go in person perhaps if I'm feeling up to it. I just wish we didn't have to fight and cause division in the family. 

Today was the day I could finally throw this away! No more Covid tests will be found in this house! No, I didn't order the free ones from the government. I don't believe these tests were very accurate anyways. Bye bye!

I mean, look at all these disclaimers! And also today, the CDC reduced their Covid infections in children by 24%! Yes, 1 out of 4 charts had wrongly put covid-19 has the cause tor the infection down to Covid. Just ridiculous. What a scandal. Good riddance.

The End